Three Trees
by Grun
Summary: Misfortune befalls one generation of Zoroark after the next.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a starry sky, and below it, starry water. Near that water, there was a city that never slept, built into a circle. All Trainers, boats and even Pokemon were drawn to it, as though it were a supernova - it seemed to be the center of all things.

Near that bright city was a mountain, the surface of which glowed faintly in the starlight, and upon that hill was a forest so dense that even in day, most creatures could hardly see their hand in front of them. The tops of the trees reflected the starlight, sure, and from a distance it was a beautiful forest; but under its canopy, there was sheer darkness.

In the darkness lived Pokemon that embodied it. Only with the aid of a light, or perhaps the night-vision abilities the forest Pokemon possessed, would that wood come to life in the eye of a stranger. At first, a stranger would notice a Woobat or two, hanging quietly from the trees… then they would notice more and more Woobat, and sometimes Zubat, going about their small lives further up in the trees. The silence would be interrupted eventually by the sound of some territorial scuffle between the bat Pokemon species, and that would set a startled Deerling or Axew to flee, its footsteps hushed by the deep bed of pine needles.

If they dared, a stranger would venture deeper into the woods, encountering few Pokemon along the way aside from a few Bug-types. If they had wandered deep enough, they would have found… me. If they were a Pokemon, they would have heard me murmuring a farewell.

I was talking to my mate then. We were a young couple, not more than half a year evolved, and - though I didn't know, at the time - the pride of the Zoroark clan. The young and strong pack members were ultimately the ones that would earn the pack's respect, especially if they paid their dues by producing young. Aster and I were nearing our peak then; we were the newest and strongest blood. Unbeknownst to the pack, we were also getting close to having our first child.

Aster, a strong and towering specimen of a mate, was sitting up on the ground, grooming my face methodically. I was on my back, looking up at him.

"Heartkin, will I be alright without you?" Heartkin was an oft-used term of endearment among Zoro-kind.

"Yes, you will," I replied. "Will I come home to the nest you always promised to dig?"

"Of course - and I'm sure I will have the whole pack on my side. I think they'll be happy for us."

"I can only hope so. But even if they aren't, I still believe you'll be fine, sweetheart." I put one paw on Aster's face.

Aster put his paw on mine. "Heartkin, if the whole forest were gone, I would still be right here."

We were painfully romantic in those days. What can I say? We were young.

"You know, this… separation… was always a secret to me. It seems like the kind of thing only females know about."

"Well, you're right." I turned over and laid on my stomach, with my ribs pressed against the cool earth. "It's because the pack is born to travel. It's difficult enough for a pack to stay in one place for a few weeks, finding food and staying inconspicuous and all. But imagine doing so while also protecting someone dangerously protective, ravenously hungry, and in other ways a danger to the pack… the closer we come to that time, too, the less we are able to move - let alone hunt. Eggs are too much of a burden for the pack to bear, so we're all able to make do on our own until we're ready to travel again."

Aster nodded, and his face was full of empathy. "Is it that hard on you, dear?"

"Well, I've heard it's a test of strength." I shrugged away my fear for Aster's sake. "But it's nothing a Zoro can't handle." In truth, I was terrified, not only of birth but of being alone for so long.

"Good luck, dear." Aster paused. For a moment, I took in how beautiful my mate was. Hesitantly, he posed the question - "May I…?"

"Of course. This will be the last time for many weeks…"

We shared a Zoroark's kiss. Being so in love, I felt as though it lasted almost into eternity, and wanted it for longer.

"You have to go…"

"Yeah, I sure do…"

"Goodbye, Gladi."

"Goodbye, Aster."

We took a moment to look at each other, and smell each other, before I turned away into the darkness. I would be back soon, but 'soon' would be too long.

When Zoroark couples successfully began to produce a child, a clock would begin to tick for the female. In a timely fashion, she would have to distance herself from the pack - by miles, so as not to interfere with their ability to hunt - and find herself a safe place to lay an egg. Because packs do not travel so much as rotate between sites, spread out over miles of territory, most long-standing packs already have designated spots for such things. The Sunrise Pack, possibly the oldest in the region, had been using a few select sites for many years.

As I walked, and soon broke out into a run, I imagined what Aster must have been doing at that moment - he would have carefully climbed to the top of the leaders' boulder and begun to howl, causing every member of the pack, far and wide, to come to that central clearing. I could still hear him loud and clear from where I was - it was a happier and stronger howl than I had ever heard.

I imagined that Larkspur, the leader, would have been the first to spring into the moonlight and stand tall before Aster. He probably stared poor Aster down until the meeting began, as every mother, pup, brother and sister appeared from the forest to hear him. It was likely that Aster announced softly that there would be a new pack member between himself and me, and that he kept his voice soft as though afraid of his own boundless joy. It must have been at that point that I heard the whole pack howl and bark in excitement. Larkspur would have laughed. Everyone had seen it coming. Upon reflection, I realize we were the most lovey-dovey Zoroarks for miles.

Although not unused to running, the hours of tireless sprinting under the setting moon began to take its toll on me. Going up the mountain, the air was growing thinner, and the terrain grew harder. I distracted myself again with the thought of my pack. By then, Larkspur and Aster would have had a quiet talk, and Larkspur would have agreed to let Aster be the pack's new leader. At the announcement, each adult would have approached Aster and licked his muzzle, or shown other signs of submission and love. I smiled and hoped I would come back to a happy home.

Right then, though, I was content to step into the safety of an old nesting den - or so I had thought it was.


	2. Chapter 2

I crouched down to crawl into the den's narrow entrance, and not before I was trapped by the narrow opening did the traps go off. Within moments, I was blinded by flashing lights and choking on some foreign gas. Squinting, coughing, and terribly afraid, I tried to back up to regain the agency of my claws, eyes, breath and four legs - and had a small victory as I brought my body back to the relative safety of clean air - but no sooner had I done so than four walls, hidden under the humus, sprung towards me. With all of my panicked force, I rushed at one wall, only to recoil in sudden shock at the close proximity of a human. A human! All of us resented humankind, and avoided it at all cost.

I turned around, and around, and around again. I was in a cage barely large enough to turn, and on all sides, humans were making themselves busy around me. A single human, which stood between me and the den, never took his eyes off me. He was not afraid to look at me, into my face, as I stood there snarling and barking curses. I used Slash on that cage, but it was no use. I felt the cage tilt, and for a moment, had a fear of falling... then it righted itself, and began to move... I was on the back of a vehicle. Only then did the one human, with eyes as cool as the sea and as intense as a Fire-type, break eye contact with me and walk away.

I brushed away a sense of shame as I did what anyone was supposed to do when in danger like this. I howled. In hindsight, I regret this decision, for no sooner had I done so than the vehicle began to move... I led the pack to me, only for me to be gone, and though the scent trail would have been there, none would have pursued me aside from maybe Aster. My heart beat quicker as I realized that to the pack, I was dead now. Dead. Gone.

"I have to think quickly, Aster…" I held my head in a paw and stared at the ground in thought. I was distracted momentarily by how rapidly the ground moved, how tired and hungry I was, and how delicate I felt as time went on. I would be strong again after laying, but… where would I lay, and how would I get home?

One thing at a time.

I knew what I had to do.

It took a great deal of my energy to maintain the Illusion that I had given up, and laid at the bottom of the cage like a hurt Lillipup. With what was left of my energy, I took to the cage. There was a small seam near the bottom, where the bars met the floor, and one or two bars were starting to break loose; once they were loose, it looked as though I could simply lift them up and slip under them. The move Slash was fine for hunting - simple, clean, strong, and efficient - but did me little good then, as each time I hit the cage, it took a great deal of force and energy. Fury Swipes would have been more appropriate, I thought. If only I had learned Fury Swipes.

When that steely human checked back on the cage, he saw a defeated Zoroark - but only for a moment. I broke the Illusion once I was a safe distance away.

Exhausted and vulnerable, I realized that not only did I have to keep running, but that I had a sad, sad choice ahead of me. I had a chance, now, to meet my mate and my pack and be safe, but if I were to be followed, then I would put all of us at risk. A few humans we could handle - our powers of Illusion always were enough to entrap and frighten them - but a crowd of humans, with captive Pokemon and traps, put up a real threat. I couldn't do that to them. I imagined how that battle would go - humans, being humans, would destroy our environment first, cutting down trees and placing lights to confuse us… they would send in their Pokemon first to surround us, and get us into a cluster, before making their appearance. Humans are treacherous cowards, but they have strategy and technology on their side. Larkspur or Aster would be the first to fight back, knocking out the minion Pokemon with a few uses of Shadow Ball or Night Daze… Larkspur would say the word, and we would all Transform into Patrat or Pidove, and try to escape that way, but as we left what was left of the forest we would find sentries everywhere with nets waiting. As the Pokemon we transformed into were weak, we would find ourselves scattered, confused, and even more vulnerable than before. The thought of my family and friends in cages, turning in circles, panicking, and struggling - it was too much for me, and I started to run. I had no choice. I had to leave.

As I ran, my tired steps fell hard on the ground, and my whole body shuddered from the impact. I wept, trying to accept that I would never be home again, and neither would my pup.


	3. Chapter 3

The noontime autumn sun did little to warm the cold air. I was still running.

For a creature that lives in only a few distinct places, being forced away both from its pack and from its home leaves it with few options. That was me then; would there be vicious Pokemon in the world below? I didn't know, and couldn't take the risk. Would it be more dangerous to take the back roads or the big cities? I didn't know, and I was in no position to make _any_ dangerous choice... but there I was, still on the side of the mountain, with my back to where my pack lived. Below me was the rest of Unova.

Closest to me was a choice between the ocean and a small human settlement, mostly surrounded by a younger, but still similar, forest. "At least this is a simple choice," I thought. "Maybe I'll find some helpful Pokemon there." The area did not seem old or deep enough to carry any really threatening Pokemon, and the presence of humans guaranteed some kind of food supply, though stealing would become more dangerous each time. I picked my way downhill and felt tense, as though the cold-eyed human was staring me down even then. I went faster.

Upon entering the lower reaches of the forest, a scent began to concern me - it was that of some Pokemon's territory mark. I turned left for several minutes, but the territory did not stop. This whole forest was theirs, which worried me. Still, given that I had no choice, I nervously slowed to a jog and dashed about irregularly, keeping my ears and eyes wide open, and frowned.

I followed the bright red, leaf-covered forest floor to an area of fewer trees and more underbrush, forcing me to slow to a crawl as I tramped awkwardly over and through it. Not far behind me were the humans, not far ahead of me were more humans, and on either side, I began to detect the gleaming of many small pairs of eyes. I stared them down easily, being a large foreign Dark-type, intimidating to nearly any small Pokemon. This action became more rushed, more angry, and more frantic as time went on; I was slowed by the brambles and the aggressive Pokemon, I could smell my pursuers not two miles away, and the cold and hunger began to take a toll on my strength. At my most frightened, I began barking gently at the little noises and eyes in the brambles.

Suddenly, they revealed themselves to be Lillipup. I looked where I was going only to meet eyes with a Stoutland.

The Stoutland fluffed up his fur and growled, clearly in no mood for conversation. Dark-types like myself were infamously predatory, disproportionately so compared to most Pokemon, and this Stoutland was more than large enough to outweigh me in a direct fight. I swallowed hard, tensed my body, and tried to shake away the cold. It would take too much time, but...

This would have to be a fight.

Anticipating a physical attack, I quickly leapt for the thicket and Illusioned myself into a Sewaddle. Unfortunately, this could not prevent the unnerving effects of Growl, which inevitably lowered my guard - right in time for me to gasp and lower my head, as an ocean of Lillipup discovered me and began using Bite, breaking the Illusion. My legs were being bitten and pulled in different direction, the skin on my forepaws was becoming more dented by the second, and a few persistent little horrors began nipping around my sides. I rose, lifting them along with me, and kicked them off all at once - they flew in all directions. Before I could recover, the Stoutland had returned, hitting me hard from the front with Take Down. I recovered from Take Down while still in midair and dug my claws into the earth, immediately preparing myself to use Feint Attack. Feint Attack clearly shocked the Stoutland, who ran a few steps away, but he stood his ground as strong as ever.

Meanwhile, I could smell the human pack coming closer.

I started using Fury Swipes on the Stoutland, though my ability to persist was lessened by its personal army, which I inevitably had to kick away. Stoutland leaving no chance untaken, wasted no time in using Crunch, which startled me and lowered my defense even more.

The seconds went on, and though no attack was devastating, my energy was crumbling faster over time. I realized that even if it meant running into the village, I had to get out of there. I started running again, pursued by Lillipup... though not Stoutland, who wisely knew not to leave his home unattended. The Lillipup continued to use Tackle and Bite until I outran them. Not more than a few minutes later, I became aware of a stabbing pain in my side... there must have been a critical hit there. It hurt until I was close to tears. Though I was still running, I was weak. I wished I had never battled. I wished I had never left home.

Night fell, and I had put an extra few miles between myself and the humans. I can only sleep for a few minutes, I told myself. Laying down on the damp forest floor, I curled up tightly, trying to get away from the annoyance of the pain of my injuries... holding my side with one paw and my face in the other, I found little relief. I wanted my mate to find me and keep me warm. I wanted to be home, with access to Berries and healing and family. I wanted to start a happy family.

I fell asleep stiff and cold on the ground, wondering if I was going to be captured or die first.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke abruptly in the night to sharp pains in my stomach.

It was time.

Under the bitterly cold night skies, with frost still covering the ground (and myself), I shuffled about as quickly as I could manage, though my bones still ached from cold and my skin still ached from bruises. The pain was more than I had imagined, though most likely, it was only mortally painful because of the cold and my existing condition. Every minute dragged on - anyone could have tortured me thoroughly by pointing out how slowly time was passing - and I did not know what I was doing, but I had to keep doing it. At a snail's pace, the moon set, the sun rose, and I was tired. The sun climbed towards the heavens, and I was tired. Was it supposed to take this long?

The sun climbed down towards the earth, ending the first day and beginning the second night. I was tired. The moon flew gracefully towards her place in the sky. I was done. The egg was here. I was tired. I held it against my chest.

I could barely respond when I heard leaves crunching under hurried feet, and did not have the capacity to react to the cage that sprung up around me. Without thinking, without the energy to care, I rolled my egg under a layer of humus and succumbed to my fate; a fate inevitably linked with the treachery of humans.

My story ends here.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a cold and pale autumn evening. Where, in deciduous forests, trees would normally be bursting with color, the evergreens showed little change from summer to winter. They were as tall, solemn, and green as ever, though perhaps more pale in the weak light. Flocks of Unfezant and juvenile Tranquill fluttered down to the trees for the night, the howls of Stoutland could be heard in the distance, and the evening was very still.

Miho padded silently across the forest floor in her bare feet. The deep bed of pine needles was soft and springy, though occasionally sharp. Miho was well accustomed to the feeling and minded nothing but her surroundings.

She glanced through the trees and noticed that few Unfezant flocks were left - most had already made their way to Hoenn. The scuffle of Lillipup and Emolga was hardly audible, she noted, as most had bed down for the winter.

Miho sat down quietly and snapped a blade of grass in two, her eyes on the ground.

As if in response to her muffled frustration, the sounds of many feet began to overwhelm the area. Tensing up, Miho crouched, moved swiftly up a hill, and took up a vantage point from behind a thicket of young trees.

Below, at the small clearing Miho had been headed towards, was a large and mysterious Pokemon. It seemed to be struggling on the ground. Miho squinted.

On closer inspection, it was a Pokemon with a canine face, strong claws, and a flowing mane... With its face lifted to the sky, its ribs poking into its sides, and its body writing against the soft forest floor, it appeared to be in some pain. Hurt, perhaps. And hungry. And certainly not from around here. Miho wondered what kind of Pokemon it could be, and admired how powerful a species it looked. Out of the corner of her eye, she made eye contact with another human. As quickly as she turned to face him, he raised a finger to shush her, and nodded towards the Pokemon.

She watched as the Pokemon eased itself into an upright position, shivering all the while. It looked quite sad as it looked into the moonlight. Then...

Waves of light in all shades of blue and violet engulfed its torso as it cringed and braced itself. It let out a muffled cry as the light seemed to impale the Pokemon from behind, coming through its stomach and pausing in front of it, then... forming an egg shape. The Pokemon relaxed itself and fell gently to the ground, reaching its claws out towards the Egg. It laid on its back and breathed heavily, clutching the Egg to its thick mane.

The strange man dressed in black then leapt out from his hiding spot, as did at least 10 other individuals, to Miho's surprise. Men and equipment were everywhere, with nets and Pokeballs, but mostly guiding an all-wheel vehicle towards the scene. The Pokemon flipped onto its feet in a panic, and clutched its Egg to its chest.

Within seconds, the Pokemon was cornered. Someone picked it up by its mane and dragged it into a small cage. Satisfied, the company began to pack up and vanish as quickly as they had appeared. The Pokemon slipped its Egg through the bars of the cage into a pocket of pine needles. Then, it was gone, and all the forest was silent again. Taking a quick breath, Miho jogged across the clearing and tucked the Egg into her coat.

"It's finally settled now. I can leave."


	6. Chapter 6

[Author's note: I am retconning Miho's name to Itana for personal and symbolic reasons. This story is very personal to me and I would feel better after making that change. Thank you for understanding.]

Itana dipped into her home, kicking her coat into a corner of the hallway. The house was silent, aside from the sound of running water in the kitchen. Silently, Itana padded up the stairs with the Egg in her arms, and although she was focused on stealth, her eyes would dart to the fragile beacon of opportunity she held and she would shiver.

A windowsill seat with a strong evening sun. This would do. She normally used it as a desk as she read, but it would have to serve a new purpose now. The Trainers' Manual? On the floor. Biographies by famous Trainers? On the floor. A survival guide? The floor would have to be its throne now. As for Itana's bed, it now belonged to the windowsill; a large enough area to sleep in, if she curled up sideways.

Itana laid the egg in the sun, half-covering it with her quilts.

"No one must know about you," she murmured to it. "If anyone knew what has happened, they'd ruin it for me. It would be my big Pokemon journey or whatever, and that's not what this is about. This is about me making my own way in this world.

"I've been trapped in this village for 14 years and I feel like I'm living dead. Nothing that matters ever changes. I look at the same faces and places every day and hear the same voices, the same Pokemon cries, the same 'funny jokes'. I know there's better out there for me. That's why I need you. When I have a Pokemon, no one can stop me from walking out of here. I've spent so long waiting."

She paused to find the right words.

"You'd better not let me down, or I'll be stuck back here again."

Itana slowly rose to her feet, then spent perhaps 5 minutes simply looking down at her precious Egg. Her life had finally begun, but she could not be passionate. It would be her downfall to get too passionate, lest those feelings show through her cover.

She tiptoed downstairs and greeted her mother as if she had just gotten home and from there, the long days passed. Itana spent most of her time in her room to begin with, but now she spent day and night there, anxiously making sure that her mother would not somehow discover the Egg. Her bed was made, her room was tidy, and she went to bed at reasonable hours – all reasons to make sure that her mother disturbed nothing in the room. Each morning, she would rotate the Egg a little bit, as she had read to do; she kept it under blankets and next to her body for warmth in the chilly mornings, would let it breathe fresh air in the warmer afternoons, and spend all evening with it tucked into her lap, soaking up the warm sunset. Slowly, the egg began to generate warmth of its own. Itana smiled each morning from then on, as she touched it and felt that it was alive. Once, she remembered that she had not smiled for genuine reasons in many years.

On the twenty-first morning, Itana woke up when the birds were singing, but the sun had not yet risen. Still in her sleepy stupor, it took her some time to recognize the unusual noises that had woken her, then a few minutes more to recognize where those sounds must be coming from. When it hit her, she sat bolt upright in bed, peering into darkness for any movement.

It took a few moments to see the dark figure in the wee hours' light, but what she saw thrilled her right away. Her Pokemon had hatched.


End file.
